Development News | Fall 2013

Parents of NMSU grads honor children’s educational success

By Isabel A. Rodriguez

A scenic view and a sense of community spirit brought Danny and Paula Gamboa and their family to New Mexico State University’s Center for the Arts recently, where a terrace was named for the couple in honor of their children – all NMSU Aggies.

“Partnerships between the university and the private community are essential to the university,” said NMSU Executive Vice President and Provost Dan Howard. “The family is a tremendous supporter of NMSU.”

At the naming reception on Friday, Sept. 27, held by NMSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, the local businessman and his wife watched as the plaque for Danny and Paula Gamboa was unveiled just inside the door to the second floor balcony with a view of the Organ Mountains. Read more

Endowed scholarship established at NMSU for journalism students

By Frank Thayer

A profound sense of Aggie pride for one New Mexico State University alumnus has been transformed into a new endowment for the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications.

The Daniel R. Perry Endowment Scholarship was created by Perry’s wife, Irene, with a $15,000 gift after Dan’s death in March. The endowment will be available each year, beginning in 2014, to a deserving journalism student pursuing the news editorial emphasis at NMSU.

Dan Perry was born in Ft. Sumner, N.M., in July 1939. He attended NMSU and was one of the two journalism graduates in May 1962. Perry was a lifelong Aggie fan, and during his university career, he was a staff member for the student newspaper The Round Up, a stringer for The El Paso Times under the tutelage of El Paso Times writer Buckner Lanier, and a staff member of the university’s yearbook.

At graduation, Perry received his commission in the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam, the Pentagon, and many other duty stations, retiring at the rank of Colonel. The Perry’s established home base in San Antonio, where Dan was the chair of the Alamo Chapter of the Aggie Alumni Association and devoted to the sports history of his Aggies. After retiring from the military, Perry earned a master’s in counseling and was a marriage counselor for many years. Perry also earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Alabama in 1972. In 2011, the NMSU Alumni Association selected Perry for the James F. Cole Award that is reserved for especially deserving alumni.

Former NMSU basketball coach named arts and sciences development director

By Tonya Suther

The College of Arts and Sciences at New Mexico State University has named former women’s basketball head coach Patrick Knapp as director of development. The former Division I coach brings more than 38 years of fundraising and development experience to the college.

“When he coached at NMSU, Patrick Knapp was named conference coach of the year and he has continued to demonstrate his passion and commitment during his long career in athletics,” said Christa Slaton, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “I fully expect him to bring that same high level of drive, discipline and enthusiasm to his fundraising efforts for the college.”

Originally from Philadelphia, Knapp most recently served as the associate director of athletics at the University of the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. Raising money and increasing awareness of the College of Arts and Sciences will be among his major responsibilities.

“At each step along the way, during my career and starting with New Mexico State, I was fundraising and interacting with the community,” Knapp said. “So I’m doing the same thing now, I’m just moving over to the academic side.”

Knapp coached women’s basketball at NMSU from 1983-86. He was only the third head coach since the team was established in 1973, and the first male to ever serve in that position. Named conference coach of the year during the 1984-85 season, his most wins occurred the next year when he established a 20-8 record.

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